“Scott has it all. He has the experience, the credibility and he is among the very best reporters ever to work at CBS News,” CBS News chairman Jeff Fager said Tuesday in a statement.

“In more than two decades at CBS News, he has distinguished himself at every level, right up to his current role at ’60 Minutes,’ where his work has been incomparable,” Fager’s statement continued. “We like to think of CBS News as the ‘reporter’s network’ and I can’t think of anybody in this business better suited for the anchor chair than Scott.”

Couric announced on April 26 that she was leaving “The CBS Evening News” after nearly five years at the anchor’s desk, following weeks of speculation surrounding her departure.

“In making the decision to move on, I know the ‘Evening News’ will be in great hands, but I am excited about the future,” she told People magazine. She has not revealed her plans for the future, but she has hinted that she would like to develop her own syndicated talk show.

In a statement to the New York Times Tuesday, Couric called Pelley “a great reporter and a real gentleman who cares deeply about the news.”

She went on to say, “I know he’ll put his own unique imprimatur on the broadcast and will do a great job carrying on the rich tradition of ‘The CBS Evening News.'”

Pelley had been tipped as Couric’s replacement several weeks before she had made her exit official.

Pelley joined CBS in 1989 as a reporter, and was a correspondent on CBS’s weeknight “60 Minutes II” show in 2003 before joining the main Sunday night “60 Minutes” broadcast in 2004.

During his tenure at “60 Minutes,” Pelley interviewed President George W. Bush, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, among others.

In addition to his “CBS Evening News” duties, Pelley will continue to report stories for “60 Minutes,” the network said.